Junior Hockey’s Rising Stars - Oct 2nd, 2025
WRITTEN BY JOSHUA BOYD
Each week, check back with The Dan K Show as Joshua Boyd breaks down last week’s action and find the best performances from hockey’s rising stars.
October 1st. 2025
USHL
Brent Solomon '07 got on the board and then some in his third game of the season with a 1-3-4 performance for the Sioux Falls Stampede for his first points of this season. While playing with Champlin High School in Minnesota last year, he also saw his first eight USHL games with the Stampede. He was selected by the Stampede in the 2024 USHL Draft (10th round, 143rd overall), and then this past summer, the Detroit Red Wings selected him in the fourth round, 109th overall. Post-USHL, he'll be heading to the University of Wisconsin.
The Youngstown Phantoms swept a two-game series against the U.S. National Team Development Program, with defenseman Carter Murphy '07 picking up his first points of the year with a 1-3-4 line over the two contests. Murphy was a regular with Youngstown last year, and also saw time with the Phantoms in 2023-24, during which he played mostly with the Dallas Stars Elite program. The University of Minnesota-Duluth recruit was selected in the 2023 USHL Futures Draft by Youngstown (fourth round, 47th overall)
Two other '07's putting up three-point games this past week included Waterloo's Travis Lefere, a Miami University recruit and former NAHL Watertown Shamrock, who selected him first overall in the 2024 NAHL Draft; and returning Cedar Rapids Roughrider Jason Musa, a UMass recruit who was a 2023 USHL Draft pick out of the Trinity-Pawling School and the Hartford Jr. Wolfpack 16U team.
NAHL
Sean Truby '07 is second in team scoring for the Janesville Jets, who drafted him in the third round of the 2025 NAHL Draft. He put up a 2-3-5 line over last week's three games for the Jets, all of which they won. Truby was selected out of the OJHL's Leamington Flyers and GOJHL's Chatham Maroons. Before that, the Royal Oak, Mich., native was a regular in the Compuware program, representing Compuware in the 2023 (15U) and 2024 (16U) USA Hockey Nationals.
It only took Bryce Wiitala '07 four games to register his first NAHL and junior hat trick. The former Holy Family Catholic alternate captain and Lindenwood University recruit scored three for the Minnesota Mallards against New Mexico on Sept. 26, and he has a 4-1-5 line in five games.
Defenseman Mikhail Cherepanov '08 registered four assists in three wins from Sept. 25-27 for the New Hampshire Mountain Kings. A 2025 USHL Draft Pick by Tri-City, Cherepanov played his first North American season last year for Team Illinois. He has four points in seven games with New Hampshire, leading Mountain King defensemen.
Back to the Janesville Jets, we shout out goaltender Kaenan Smith '08, who went 2-0 including an OT win against Austin this past week. He stopped 46 of 49 shots in the two wins for a .939 save percentage. Smith is a WHL Expansion Draft pick of Penticton, and a USHL Futures Pick of Sioux Falls. On Sept. 23, he announced his commitment to Minnesota-Duluth. A Team USA member in the World Hockey Challenge and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he previously played in the USA Hockey Nationals with the Sioux Falls Power 16U team in 2024-25, when he also made his USHL debut with both the Sioux Falls Stampede and the U.S. NTDP.
NCDC
Aidan Garced '08 put up a strong 2-2-4 line in two games for the Worcester Jr. Railers in wins against Springfield and Universel Academy this past week, giving him his first points for the season. Garced is a former New Jersey 87's 16U standout from the Tier 1 Hockey Federation.
Niklas Crift '07 posted a fantastic 35 saves on 36 shots for his first win of the season for the Junior Bruins against Springfield. He has a 1-0-1-1 record, along with a .954 save percentage and a 1.54 GAA. A Draft Pick of the Junior Bruins in the 2025 NCDC Draft, he joined out of the Lovell Hockey Academy 18U team.
Previously mentioned in this space, Gabriel Boivin '08 and Anthony Roy '07 continue to lead the way among the young guns of the NCDC. Boivin, playing for Universel Quebec, improved to a league-leading 14 points in seven games by putting up a 3-4-7 line in three games last week. Roy, skating for Universel Academy, is tied for second in league scoring with 13 points. He had a 4-2-6 line in four games over the last week.
EHL
Returning to the Express Hockey Club, Sam Steinman '07 led the way to the Express' first victory by scoring twice in regulation and also the winning shootout goal against the Bridgewater Bandits on Sept. 25. A former standout with nearby Middleborough (Mass.) High School, Steinman joined the Express in 2024-25 and registered 10 points in 28 games.
A first North American game led to a first goal (the game-winning goal) for Riga, Latvia's Ernests Muska '07 of HC Rhode Island, on Sept. 25 against the Providence Capitals. Muska came from Latvia's HC Falcons Division 2 pro team, where he skated alongside players as old as 26.
Pennsylvania Huntsmen goalie Viktor Strnad '08 made his EHL debut with a strong 42-save performance albeit in a losing effort. Strnad joined the EHL Huntsmen after playing all of last season with the Huntsmen's EHL Premier team.
USPHL Premier
USPHL veteran MacGregor King '07 put up a huge showing at the BJB Shootout in Marlborough, Mass., scoring a line of 1-7-8, certainly earning the "Mr. Generous" title! King joined the Hershey Cubs after a strong year last year with the USPHL Premier's Chicago Crush, where he scored 53 points in 41 regular season games and added five points in four playoff games. He started last season with the USPHL Elite's Crush team, but was moved up permanently last October after registering 10 points in six Elite games.
Jack Tidsbury '07 picked up seven points as well, and in just two games for the defending National Champion Vernal Oilers (5-2-7). He has 13 points in four games, which gives him a 3.25 points per game average as a junior rookie joining from the Cariboo Cougars 18U team from the British Columbia Elite Hockey League, a AAA circuit in the western Canadian province. He is tied for third in Premier scoring.
The Hampton Roads Whalers landed a huge pickup in Swedish goalie Felix Tolke '07. Tolke is currently undefeated at a league-best 5-0, picking up his second shutout of the season on Sept. 27 with a 31-save performance against the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes. He opened his USPHL career with a 22-save doughnut against the Charleston Colonials on Sept. 13. He joined the Whalers from the prestigious HV71 organization in his home country.
Two shutouts opened the junior career of Jacob Fisch '08, who helped the Islanders Hockey Club with back-to-back shutouts of 20 and 24 saves. Fisch is an alum of the Tampa Bay Crunch 16U squad and his 24-save shutout against Utica on Sept. 23 marked his smashing junior debut.
NA3HL
Maine Nordiques returning veteran Hayden Brown '07 racked up four goals in two games for his squad against the New Jersey Titans, including a Sept. 27 hat trick. A former high school standout at Lewiston and Mt. Ararat in his home state of Maine, Brown now has seven points in five games, after scoring nine points in 21 games last season.
Wyatt Knott '07 stopped 49 of 50 shots in a dominating performance to help the Sheridan Hawks defeat the Yellowstone Quake on Sept. 27. The former Rochester (Minn.) High School goalie has a 2-1-0-0 record with a .957 save percentage and 1.34 GAA to start his junior career. In the Hawks' crease, he is joined by his former 14U teammate and NA3HL veteran Otto Reinhart '06.
Previously mentioned and still on fire, '07's Emerson LaRoche and Brayden Pelcl led the way for '07 and younger players with nine and seven points, respectively, for the Louisiana Drillers. LaRoche is ninth in league scoring with 17 points and Pelcl is in the top 15 with 15 points.
USPHL Elite
Chandler Moore '09 is the third-leading scorer for the Elite, with 11 points in three games, including seven points against the Typhoon Hockey Club this past weekend. Moore was a first round selection of the Maine Nordiques in the 2025 NAHL Draft. At his young age, he has been to the USA Hockey 14U Nationals (with the Tampa Bay Jr. Lightning) and last year the USA Hockey High School Nationals with Steinbrenner High.
In his first three USPHL Elite games, Connor Posthumus '08 racked up a 3-4-7 line in five games for the Islanders Hockey Club to begin his junior hockey career, joining from the Portland Jr. Winterhawks 16U program. He was with the Winterhawks for the USA Hockey Tier II Nationals last year, helping them win the National Title, scoring eight points in the tournament.
Defenseman Jacob Lefebvre '08 started his junior career as well, putting up a 4-1-5 line in three games at the BJB Shootout for the Hershey Cubs. Lefebvre's career took him from his native Canada to Finland and France last year.
Cubs goalie Kai Joy '08 turned away 56 of 58 shots on the weekend, going 1-1 in the process. His .964 save percentage is third in the league among goaltenders with multiple starts. He joined the Cubs this year from Westwood High School in Quebec's RSEQ.
EHL Premier
New Jersey Bears veteran Dominic Moushon '08 scored a team-leading four points as the Bears kicked off their season at 1-1-0-0. After scoring a combined 46 points in the regular season and playoffs last year, he now has exactly 50 points for his EHLP career. He was named to last year's EHLP All-Prospects Team. Moushon comes from the Hunterdon Bears youth organization and Hunterdon High School, where he put up 49 points last year while also playing for the Bears.
We saw a pair of single-game 2-1-3 performances from two additional returning EHLP players in 2008-born Jase Estrin and Colin Daigler. Daigler played in 34 regular season and playoff games for the Connecticut Nor'Easter and started with a 2-1-3 line in their 2025-26 opener, a 4-3 loss to the Providence Capitals. Estrin played his first two games last year for the Union Thunder, while also playing last year for the New Jersey Jets Midget team and as a junior with River Dell High School. He had his 2-1-3 line against the Atlantic City Seals on Sept. 28.
Defenseman William Farrow '08 leads 2008-and-younger EHLP blueliners out of the gate with two points in his first two games. Farrow is a returning Bear defenseman with 32 EHLP games played last year in addition to his time with Hunterdon Central High School and the Hunterdon Bears 16U team.